Popular Organic Fertilizers and How to Make Them

Popular Types of Organic Fertilizers

Before embarking on making your own organic fertilizers at home, it’s crucial to understand the different types of organic fertilizers you can create from readily available materials. Choosing the right type of fertilizer ensures strong plant growth, soil improvement, and cost savings.

a. Fertilizer from Fruits, Vegetables, and Peels

Food scraps such as banana peels, eggshells, and spoiled vegetables are easy-to-find ingredients that can be turned into organic fertilizer at home. This is a natural fertilizer rich in nutrients for plants, and it helps reduce food waste.

Benefits:

Providing essential minerals: Banana peels are rich in potassium, which helps plants bloom and fruit well. Eggshells are an excellent source of calcium, supporting root development and making the soil loose. Spoiled vegetables and leftover fruits contain phosphorus and trace elements that are beneficial for the overall growth of plants.
Reducing food waste: Utilizing food scraps for fertilizer not only saves money but also reduces the amount of food waste being discarded into the environment.

How to make:

Composting: Cut up vegetables, banana peels, eggshells, and leftover fruits and place them in a compost bin. Make sure to provide enough airflow for the decomposition process by stirring it weekly. You can also add other materials like dry leaves and straw to improve the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in the bin.
Direct soil application: After cutting into small pieces, you can directly apply this mixture to the soil around the plant roots. Be careful not to let the fertilizer touch the plant stems to avoid damage.

b. Fertilizer from Grass, Dry Leaves, and Weeds

Grass, dry leaves, and weeds can be great sources of organic fertilizer for your garden. These materials are rich in organic matter, helping improve soil structure and providing nutrients for plants.

Benefits:

Improving soil quality: Materials like dry leaves and grass make the soil loose, better-draining, and able to retain moisture for longer. This is especially useful in dry climates, where they help maintain soil moisture.
Preventing soil degradation: As grass and leaves decompose, they add organic matter to the soil, preventing it from degrading over time and increasing the soil’s ability to retain water while supporting beneficial microorganisms.

How to make:

Collecting and composting: You can gather grass, dry leaves, and weeds from your garden. Place them in a compost bin or compost pile. Once these materials have decomposed into humus, you can use them as fertilizer for your plants.
Grinding and applying directly: After the materials have dried, grind them into a mulch, then directly apply them to the soil. This helps improve soil aeration, particularly in areas with heavy or clay soil.

c. Fertilizer from Manure

Manure from livestock or poultry is one of the most common and effective organic fertilizers, providing a large amount of nutrients for plants. This natural fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, essential for plant growth.

Benefits:

Providing complete nutrition: Manure provides a rich source of nutrients for plants, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), which are essential for healthy growth, flowering, and fruiting.
Improving soil structure: Manure helps improve soil structure, making it loose, well-draining, and able to retain moisture. It also prevents soil from becoming compacted and dry.

How to make:

Purchasing manure or making it at home: You can purchase manure from farm supply stores or make your own manure at home using materials like chicken manure, cow manure, or pig manure. Ensure the manure is properly composted before use to avoid harming plants due to high temperatures from undecomposed manure.
Composting manure: To maximize the effectiveness of manure, you should compost it for about 1 to 3 months before using it. You can combine it with materials like leaves, straw, or other organic materials to enhance the decomposition process.
Applying manure: Once the manure is fully composted, you can apply it directly to the soil around the plants. It is best to apply manure just before planting season so the soil has enough time to absorb the nutrients

How to Make Organic Fertilizer at Home

Here are detailed methods for making organic fertilizer at home using readily available materials:

a. Composting

Composting is the most popular method for making organic fertilizer at home. This process helps transform organic materials like fruit peels, leftover vegetables, and dry leaves into a nutrient-rich fertilizer.

Materials Needed:

• Nitrogen materials: Fresh vegetables, grass, banana peels.
• Carbon materials: Dry leaves, twigs, scrap paper.
• Water and air to maintain decomposition.

Method:

1. Create a compost pit or pile in a well-ventilated area.
2. Layer the materials in a 1:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen materials.
3. Ensure the compost pile stays moist and turn it weekly to create a favorable environment for microorganisms to break down the materials.
4. After 3-6 months, when the compost has an earthy smell and the original materials are no longer recognizable, you will have quality organic fertilizer.

b. Fertilizer from Eggshells and Banana Peels

Eggshells and banana peels are easy-to-find ingredients and excellent for making organic fertilizer.

Eggshells: Provide calcium to the soil, supporting strong root development and overall plant health.

Banana Peels: Offer potassium and phosphorus, essential for blooming and fruiting.

Method:

1. Crush the eggshells and banana peels into small pieces.
2. Bury them directly in the soil around plants or add them to your compost pile for slow decomposition.

c. Fertilizer from Manure

Manure is a nutrient-rich fertilizer that can be made at home by composting livestock or poultry waste.

Materials Needed:

• Manure from livestock or poultry (should be composted for at least 2 months before use).
• Some additional materials like straw or leaves to help prevent the manure from becoming too wet.

Method:

1. Place the manure in an area where it can drain properly.
2. Mix the manure with other organic materials like straw or dry leaves to ensure good airflow.
3. Let the manure compost for 2-3 months before applying it to plants